


What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas

by nightmare_kisser



Category: Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, Las Vegas, M/M, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-30
Updated: 2012-04-30
Packaged: 2017-11-04 14:03:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/394677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightmare_kisser/pseuds/nightmare_kisser
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katie, Angel, Bradley, and Colin visit the States, specifically Las Vegas, Nevada, for a little vacation together before they begin filming Merlin series 5.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas

**Author's Note:**

> Meant as a giftfic for my sister since we both ship Brolin so hard.

They're having one last go before they return to set and begin filming _Merlin_ series five. It's not a whole lot of the cast, only Katie, Angel, Colin, and himself, but Bradley is extremely excited about it. He hasn't been to States in a little while, and he's always wanted to go to Las Vegas, particularly with his co-stars, since the always seem to have the best time when they are together. Eoin, Tom, and Rupert wanted to come as well, but each of them had something hindering their ability to join in the fun.

So here the four of them are, on their third and final plane on their way to Las Vegas, Nevada. They had to catch other flights to make it this far – it's a ways, you know, coming from London and crossing the ocean and then nearly the entire continental United States. But they've made it. They're nearly there. The sun is setting, and it looks beautiful outside the small airplane window.

Bradley nudges a napping Colin awake and points out at the scenery. They are currently passing over some desert plains and a few farms here and there, cities just clusters of lights as the sun shrinks in the sky. "Can you believe it, Cols? We're almost there! The pilot said we should be landing soon."

Colin rubs his eyes and runs his hand over his scruffy face. After using the same hand to comb through his hair, he's fully awake and smiling. "Ehm, yeah, 's great. Did I sleep the whole time?"

"Pretty much, yes," Katie chimes in as she leans over the aisle separating their seats. She's grinning, but they all look tired. Angel is yawning, waking from her own nap. The four of them have been up since the wee hours in the morning this morning, and once they check in to the hotel after riding in a cab for God knows how long from the airport, they most likely will crash in their beds, saving the partying and sight-seeing for the following days.

"It's okay, Colin, I did the same thing," Angel smiles as she looks over Katie's back at the boys. "Katie and Bradley are just freaks who can stay awake through anything."

"We are not _freaks,_ " Bradley retorts defensively. "We're just excited, that's all."

"Yes, and you two are wimps," Katie agrees with a smirk, and then the four of them laugh.

"Ladies and gentleman, please fasten your seat belts; we will be descending shortly," says the pilot over the intercom. The plane hostess takes over then, instructing people and assisting others.

The thrill, almost rush, that comes with landing makes Bradley's stomach flip, and he's reminded again why he loves flying: it's like being on a large, slow-moving roller coaster. His ears pop and he feels Colin brace himself on the armrest between them. Bradley glances over at the Irishman briefly before choosing to stare out the window instead.

* * *

"What should we do first in this fantastic city of sin?" Bradley jokes as the four of them make their way through the airport. A person or two gives them weird looks, perhaps wondering if they are, in fact, seeing who they think they're seeing in such a place. Bradley at least won't get crowded the way he does in the U.K., but he gets the feeling that the four of them will be recognized and approached by some fan or another at one point on this trip, no matter how quiet they tried to keep the news of their arrival here.

He also expects some fan or another to have a camera – cameras are on everything these days, phones and tablets and the like – and snap photos of the _Merlin_ stars. It's only natural. Autographs will be requested by the bold as well, and honestly, Bradley doesn't mind. He knows it will happen at some point or another, but it won't make this trip any less extraordinary.

"How about we hail a cab?" Katie points out. "I'm too tired to really do anything tonight; not even get a bite."

"Really? Because I feel fine," Angel laughs. "But that could be because I took a snooze on the way here. Twice."

"I'm the same," Colin says with a slight chuckle. "But," he adds as he adjusts the strap of his luggage on his shoulder, "I do want to check in and put this stuff away."

"Yes, let's stick to the plan and save everything for tomorrow. I think that would be best," Angel nods. "I doubt I will be able to sleep straight away, but it really would be best."

"You are all no fun," Bradley nearly pouts, but he doesn't mean it. He's just as exhausted as the lot of them, but there is a certain kind of thrum in his veins of being on foreign soil, in such a bustling city, so full of nightlife.

They hardly chat while in the cab, too distracted by the visuals all around them on either sides of the highway to talk. They say enough in the beginning, however, to give away where they're from. The cabbie doesn't know who they are, exactly, but he does smile and ask the tourists if they've been to the States before.

"Oh, sure, plenty of times," Bradley tells the man in a chipper tone. "On multiple occasions. I used to live in Florida, actually. Moved to England when I was nine."

"That so?" the cabbie comments with a smile. "Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here. There's plenty to do! But I don't recommend getting married," he jokes. "Gambling's fine, though."

"We'll keep that in mind," Katie laughs, and points out a few particularly spectacular hotels and fountains.

When they arrive at their hotel, it's one of the less impressive ones, but they wanted to keep to a budget in order to save their money for the big-ticket items, events like shows and drinks and gambling. And some for souvenirs, of course; enough for at least their family members, as well as all their main friends from the cast who wanted to come, but couldn't make it.

Colin checks himself and Bradley in, and Katie checks in herself and Angel. They are each sharing a room with the respective other, to keep things simple and cheap. The girls' room is directly beside the boys' room on the fourth floor, left of the elevator in the center of the hall.

"Enjoy your stay!" says the woman behind the counter, her choice chipper and sincere. "The bar across from this lobby opens after five, so you may get a drink if you like. And we serve breakfast until eleven a.m. for all those late to rise after a long night."

"Thank you very much," Colin says, ever the polite one, and Katie nods her head while Bradley grips the cart carrying all their luggage (they could have gotten an employee to do it for them, of course, but Bradley wanted to do it himself). Angel has the room keys, and leads the way for them.

In the elevator, the four of them are cracking jokes about how Eoin would be if he were here, and how Tom would most likely be acting the same, with Rupert between them, trying to make them settle down.

"Oh, I miss them," Angel sighs. "They would have been great here."

"Let's not dwell on that," Bradley suggests lightly. "It'll be just fun with just us. Right, Cols?"

Colin nods his head, smiling the particular close-lipped smile he only gives Bradley. "Right."

Up on their floor, the four split into their duos and say goodnight. It's not too terribly late – sometime during nine o'clock – but after a day of nothing but driving and flying, all Katie wants is a shower for her "airport grime" and all Angel wants is her bed.

"They have the right idea," Colin agrees as he shuts his and Bradley's door behind him, setting the chain lock. "I could use a shower."

"You go ahead," Bradley hums as he moves toward the first full-sized bed in the room. "I don't see why, though. We already showered today, and we're just going to shower again tomorrow. You and Katie are obsessed with cleanliness." He sets his luggage at the foot of it and lies back onto the duvet cover, feeling its fluffy thickness. The fabric is a little starchy, but he doesn't care. It's a bed that he can stretch out onto, and that's all Bradley cares about.

Colin strolls around the other bed and brings up his suitcase onto it, rifling through it until he finds clean clothes to wear to bed. "Cleanliness is close to Godliness, Bradley," Colin reminds with a smirk. He grabs his toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste as well, deciding it would be easiest to get that done while he's in there.

"Hmm. Sure it is," Bradley yawns. He rolls over onto his side as he hears Colin zip up his suitcase and drop it to the floor. "Are you hungry?"

"Ehm… not really, no. You?" Colin asks as he heads for the small bathroom in their room.

"Sort of," Bradley says thoughtfully, "But 'm too tired to make the effort."

"I thought as much," Colin grins from the bathroom doorway. "See you in a few, if you don't fall asleep."

"Oh, I will," Bradley tells his best mate, and Colin believes him.

Sure enough, once Colin emerges from the bathroom, warm and clean and minty, the blond is asleep atop his covers, lying on his stomach, with a pillow in his arms beneath his head and his feet dangling off the edge. He smiles and shakes his head. He puts away his dirty clothes and licks his suitcase off to the side. Turning off the lamp between their beds, Colin slips his headphones into his ears and slowly succumbs to sleep after about the sixth or seventh song.

* * *

"Colin! Why didn't you ever tell me you were so talented at Blackjack? You're on fire, you are! How many times have you won?" Bradley exclaims. They spent the day traveling around, seeing all sorts of sights and taking about a million photos on each others phones and cameras of one another, and they've filmed quite a bit of themselves onto Bradley's camcorder. If their producers wish, they can use some clips from this trip on the series five DVD, whenever it comes out. But if not, it's good for memories and keepsake.

Now, however, the sun is down and the wild gambling has begun. Angel likes playing slots and Katie has been at the roulette table for the past hour. Bradley, on the other hand, has hardly been gambling; instead, he has been sickly fascinated by the luck Colin has during the aforementioned card game. He's playing as well (they wouldn't let him stand behind Colin like he wanted to; they told him that he could easily cheat for Colin if he did, so he asked instead if he could play, and they didn't oppose that), but he doesn't have the knack. He keeps losing money because he asks for too many hits and winds up busting.

"Erm, uh. I think about eleven times, now," Colin says as he picks up his new hand. "In a row." He has the best poker face. Bradley attributes it to Colin's fantastic acting skills. Unless Bradley is saying something to him, Colin's face doesn't so much as twitch, and his has no nervous ticks or tells; he keeps his hands on his cards and his eyes focused on one thing at a time. It's astonishing, really.

"Well, I give up. I can't keep playing, especially not against you. I'm losing too much money!" Bradley laughs. "At this rate, I won't have enough to get my siblings any trinkets, and while Adam won't care, I'm sure Nat and Steph will murder me if I don't bring them back at least a clip for their keys."

"Then I'll let this be my last hand," Colin says after he asks the dealer to hit him with one more card. "And then we can do something else. Find the girls, maybe? Or get a drink?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Bradley grins. "I fold," he tells the dealer, and he takes what little chips he has left and stands, aiming to cash them in with Colin's share, once this hand ends.

Colin wins again – no surprise there, and it makes for a perfect dozen wins in a row – and they gather up their winnings and leave the table.

"How did you do that? Win so many times?" Bradley wants to know.

"I do simple maths for a start," Colin grins. "And then, if it's close to fifteen or seventeen, I just feel it out. If my gut says to pass, I pass. If it says to hit, I hit. And it usually works out; I get between twenty and twenty-one, and I win. And once I won with only eighteen, the hand I was dealt at the start. It was sheer luck, that one."

The blond laughs as they cash in their winnings. The tricky thing about coming to the states is the currency, really. They mostly pay by debit or credit card to spare them the currency exchange, but while gambling, the best thing to use is cold, hard cash, and the best thing to do with it afterward is spend it on items they can take back with them. Switching out money when they're back in England is a nuisance; no one likes exchange like that.

"I think I might keep a dollar bill," Colin muses, his thoughts on a similar track as Bradley's, like their minds usually are. "Just for the look of the American dollar. All green with their first president on it? It's a souvenir by itself."

"What, you've never kept one before, in all the times we've come here for interviews and comic conventions?" Bradley questions with a slightly puzzled smile. "I have quite a few back at my flat, in a drawer somewhere. And for no real reason, either. They're just leftovers I didn't care to exchange."

"I dunno. Never occurred to me to keep one before, but now I want one." Colin shrugs. He looks at Bradley and asks, "Want to step out for a spell? It's stuffy in here." He puts his money away in his wallet and shrugs his hands into his hoodie. It's cool out, just the end of January, and since this is the desert, the heat from the sun rapidly goes away once the stars are out (if they could be seen without all of the light pollution, that is).

"Sure," Bradley readily agrees. He tugs down the sleeves of his shirt and leaves the casino through a large glass door that leads out onto a balcony over a long, shallow pool with a fountain in the center. There are plants around the balcony, and part of the city can be seen across the highway. It's oddly beautiful, and as the blond leans onto the stony rail of the balcony, he smiles a little dreamily. "Are we going to see a show tomorrow?" he poses casually.

"Yeah, some magic one. I wonder if it will compare to my magic, eh?" Colin jokes as he joins Bradley in leaning against the balcony railing and overlooking the fountain pool and busy highway, the buildings around it looking almost odd, as if they shouldn't be there, since they are all so different from the other, and so bright.

"It won't," Bradley laughs. "They aren't using the same computer tricks, and they don't have the same crew. And they don't have your flawless talent, either."

"No, and that is the most important piece," Colin plays along. "It's what makes it believable."

"Exactly," Bradley grins.

"…Do you think there will be tigers in the show?" Colin asks, genuinely curious.

"This is Vegas, Col, so I don't see why not," Bradley replies.

"Oh, good. But, ehm, do you think the tigers will try to eat or maim the magicians? That would make for an awful performance. Very unprofessional of the tigers, if you ask me." And there he goes again with that dark, sometimes morbid humor. It takes Bradley a moment to laugh, because at first he pictures blood everywhere and it's not a pretty sight, but it evolves into the mental image of a cartoonish man's legs dangling from an over-sized, cartoonish tiger's chops, and it becomes quite funny.

"No, Colin, I don't think the tigers will try to eat or maim anyone," Bradley replies around sputters of breath leftover from his head-tipped-back laughter. He stands and turns his back to the railing, leaning against it another way. He shivers momentarily, but it soon passes. After all, he doesn't get quite as chilly as Colin does, the skinny prat. The blond clears his throat and asks, "Are you about ready to go inside?"

"Nearly," Colin answers quietly. He's looking out at the scenery, and Bradley can't help but stare at Colin's profile. Colin says wistfully, "What do you suppose the theatre will look like? Anything like when we went to see _Hamlet_ a couple weeks ago?"

"Not sure. I doubt it, actually. Should be flashier than that. Americans like things big and bold, remember?" Bradley answers, but his own voice is an octave quieter than before.

When they went to see _Hamlet,_ they weren't with Angel or Katie like they will be now. They were alone, and they _purposely_ went alone. Bradley took Colin out to eat beforehand, to a place that served vegetarian meals alongside their more omnivore-accommodating meals. It wasn't quite a date, not really; to the untrained eye, it was just an outing between mates, nothing more. But Bradley had wished he had made a move to let Colin know his intentions.

No one knows this, however. Not a soul aside from himself, because he can't make anything known quite yet. Not by Colin, not by his cast or crewmates, and not known even by his own family, because the word cannot get out. It simply can't, not when he has the fifth series of _Merlin_ to film (and who knows, perhaps another series or two more after that? Nothing is final yet), and he needs to remain professional. It could ruin things monumentally, Bradley thinks.

–Not just with his and Colin's comfortable friendship, which would be awful in itself, but it could spoil his and Colin's career if people knew at least how Bradley felt about Colin. Their fans would view them differently, most for the worst, some for the better, but overall it would fuck up _Merlin,_ and Bradley loves it too much to ruin it. (Loves Colin too much to spoil it.)

Thus, on this trip to Vegas, he must tread carefully. But even so, it doesn't hurt to bring up such a fond memory.

"Right. Big and bold," says Colin, but he soon cracks up, because it's been such a wild night already that he can't seem to imagine how tomorrow will be that much grander. He shivers suddenly, and looks over at Bradley. "Alright, _now_ I want to go in for a small drink."

"Cheers to that," Bradley states with a snort. "I was wondering when you would come 'round. I could really go for a nice, dark ale right about now."

"Let's see if we can't make that happen," comes Katie's voice, and she seems giddy as she approaches them. "So here's where you two are! Angel and I have been looking all around the card tables for you."

"Katie had much better luck than I did," Angel sighs, joining them seconds later. "I see you found them, Katie. Why did you two wander out here?"

"Needed some air that wasn't full of cigarette smoke or sweat," Colin says idly. He looks at Katie. "You, too, then? And here I thought I was the only one with gambling smarts."

"Nope! I have a feeling for these sorts of things," Katie says with a smile.

"Must be the luck of the Irish," Bradley huffs. "Which leaves me and poor Angel in the dust with hardly a cent to our names. Right, Hussy-pants?"

"I can't believe you are still using that nickname," Angel giggles. She comes around and wraps her arms around Katie and Colin. "Now come on, then, let's go and have a drink together."

"Read my mind, Hussy-pants," Bradley grins, joining the chain of co-stars by bringing his arm around Colin to overlap Angel's.

They wander over to the bar potion of the casino, music playing loud enough to give the floor a slight buzz that matches perfectly in time with the bass. It's not too loud to hear the bartender, however, nor too loud to hear one another if they sit really close.

They choose a nice little booth together and settle down with their drinks. Katie's and Angel's are cold and fruity, and Colin munches on the kabob in his Bloody Mary while Bradley sips casually at his beer.

"This was such a fantastic idea," Angel says happily as she sinks her teeth into the chilled strawberry in her daiquiri. "I love Vegas. There is too much to do, but that's what makes it fun!"

"I still wonder if it would have been cheaper to go with one of the hotels attached to a casino instead. The small one we have is nice and all, but… I dunno," Colin remarks as he sips at his tomato-y drink. He doesn't often drink, but when he does, it almost makes Bradley laugh, because even Colin's drink choices are healthy.

"Nah, I think it works out best this way," Bradley answers.

Katie nods her head. "I think so, too. This way, we can get around more and see other things without being so confined to our hotel," she says around a sip of her own drink. "Don't you think so?"

"I guess," Colin agrees with a shrug. His lips quirk into a smile. "If you look at it that way, it makes more sense, 'cause I can see Bradley spending his entire day at the hotel, trying to show me up in Blackjack while we're off having all the fun without him."

"Oi, I resent that!" Bradley sputters around a sip of his beer. He wipes his upper lip of foam and attempts a glare in Colin's direction where he sits across from him, but Colin's just laughing, and now Bradley feels a little warm in the face. "I would not try to show you up! I left the table just now, didn't I? I knew I couldn't beat you. I'm not Irish, after all. My luck is shit."

Beside him, Angel laughs. "Mine, too. Which is why I've decided not to gamble again. I'll stick to other, less expensive activities."

"Oh, like swimming, right? We were all going to swim tonight at the hotel's pool if we weren't too drunk?" Katie says excitedly.

"I don't know about all of you, but I'm getting in their Jacuzzi," Bradley grins. "I'm looking forward to all that."

"Well, _I'm_ swimming," Katie replies with a smile. "I can't remember the last time I was in an indoor pool, especially in the middle of January. It'll be nice."

"I think so, too," Colin utters half into his glass. "You know me: natural swimmer."

"Swim team swimmer, you mean!" Bradley teases. "But yeah, I figured you would all swim and leave me by my lonesome. At least join me in the hot tub after you're done swimming, yeah?"

"Of course we will, Bradley," Angel assures him with a nudge of her elbow to his bicep, her hands holding her drink aloft. "It'll relax us after all that swimming. And it's the perfect thing before bed, I hear. Helps tire you out."

"He won't want to be in it when he sees us in the pool, you know," Katie adds. "He'll want to play around with us. I brought my beach ball, you know. And we have the perfect number for chicken!"

Colin and Bradley exchange amused, eyebrow-raised looks at this.

"Oh, oh! I call Bradley's shoulders!" adds Angel enthusiastically.

"Yeah, 'cause mine are the only ones broad enough for your fat arse," the blond smirks, and Angel proceeds to whack him one upside his head, making him momentarily see stars.

"You're such a prat," Angel huffs, but Colin and Katie are laughing, and it isn't very long until Angel is laughing, too. Bradley joins in once his head stops hurting.

And that's how they spend their next hour or so at the bar: they order drinks, chat about what they're doing to do during the remainder of their trip, and poke fun at one another in the playful, affectionate way they do.

When it comes time to hop a cab back to the hotel, the four of them have to cram inside the back of a Taxi that should really only seat three. All the larger taxis were taken or didn't stop for them, and they were all a little too buzzed and too close to being pissed to care about the tight fit.

It taken them all of ten minutes to go up to their rooms, change into their swimwear (Bradley tries not to look as disappointed as he is when he realizes that Colin is keeping on a black tank top with his swimming trunks), grab clean towels from their bathrooms, and make it downstairs to the pool down the hall from the lobby and bar.

Katie snags a lounge chair and drapes her towel over the back of it before bringing her beach ball to her lips to inflate.

"Here, gimme that," Bradley interrupts her. "I have more lung capacity. I'll do it."

"Only because you're such a loudmouth," Katie agrees as she hands the toy over.

Bradley starts inflating it while Katie gets up and leaps into the pool. Angel, meanwhile, is stepping slowly into the pool by using the stairs, easing herself into the cool water. "'S colder than I thought it'd be."

"That's because you've been drinking. Your body's too warm. The contrast feels too great," Colin explains idly as he eases himself into the deep end of the pool from the ledge, intent on doing a few laps before the lot of them get to playing ball or chicken or Marco Polo or the like. "You'll get used to it sooner 'r later."

Angel nods, and slowly moved to sit down on one of the steps. Colin begins doing laps, and Bradley watches him move through the water as he finishes up Katie's ball.

"There we are," Bradley says as he seals the plug on the ball and tosses it into the air, spiking it like a volleyball.

"Hurray!" Katie giggles as she leans against the siding of the pool and strikes the ball before it hits the cement. It lands somewhere near Angel in the pool, and she jumps a little, startled by the sound. She smiles and picks it up, standing and bopping it over where Colin is doing laps. It smacks into the water in front of him on a turn, and he stops mid-lap to tread water and grin at it, water droplets falling down his face, his messy hair flattened to his scalp.

"Time for a game of pool volleyball, eh?" Colin muses. He grabs the ball and half-swims, half-walks over to the others. He waves out at Bradley, the only one not in the water yet. "Come on, then, Bradley! The water's fine!"

The laughs and declares them all giddy drunkards before making a cannonball dive into the deep end of the pool. He splashes all of them – and they deserve it, he believes – and makes the pool ripple with small waves for a little while. They all laugh and divide into teams, boys against girls. They keep to the more shallow end of the pool, to allow better footwork, and use part of the railing on the main stairs as an imaginary line to separate the 'court.'

"It's out of bounds if it goes past the six-foot end, and if it lands on the cement. We'll play a usual game 'til fifteen points." Katie declares, and they all deem this perfectly reasonable. (And it's a little odd for them to think in feet and inches, but that's the way the pool is labeled, so they go along with it.)

And thus, the game begins.

Katie and Bradley are much harder hitters than Colin and Angel, and ball becomes rather abused by their hands and the water tension. But both boys seem to keep getting the ball onto the cement behind the girls, and in the end, the girls win.

"Bollocks!" Bradley cries, but he's smiling. "And we almost had you!"

"But we still won," Katie brags, "So I say you and Colin should buy Angel and me something tomorrow. Treat us to a meal or drink or buy us a gift."

"That's so unfair!" Bradley protests, and next to him, Colin is laughing.

"No, I think we should do it, Bradley. They won it fair and square," the Irishman agrees.

"What is this, an Irish thing? Why are you siding with her? She's trying to con you out of your winnings, mate!" the blond points out.

"Oh, Bradley's just sore because he has the least amount of money left. You shouldn't have gambled, Bradders," Angel scolds him.

He hangs his head and sighs. "Yeah, yeah… Okay."

And after another round of laughter, Angel suggests that game of chicken, and soon, Bradley is diving underwater to hoist Angel's legs up onto his shoulders. She makes a squeal from the suddenness of the action, but she's giggling, and Katie takes it upon herself to leap onto Colin's back.

There were only one or two older folks in the Jacuzzi when they first came into the poolroom, due to the late hour, but they soon left once the game of volleyball became too loud. And now, being the only ones in the entire place, they get as loud as they wish.

The pool is open until three a.m., an unusually late hour, but then again, this is Vegas. It's just after one in the morning currently, and the four of them are having a blast wrestling with one another.

Katie has her fingers interlocked with Angel's, and she has a mischievous grin on her face as she struggles with Angel's strength. "You're going down, Coulby!"

"Not 'less I get you first, McGrath!" Angel counters with a jostle to their linked hands.

They struggle, making yelping noises and surprised giggles, and all the while, Bradley is cheering on Angel like, 'Come on, Gwenny, you can do it! Kick Morgana's ass!' and Colin is chuckling and playing along with Bradley, saying things like, 'Are you really going to let a serving girl beat a witch like you?'

In the end, Colin removes one hand from Katie's legs to reach across the short distance between them and tickle under Bradley's arm, making him unstable for Angel. Katie throws Angel sideways off of Bradley; she lands with a huge _sploosh_ in the water. Bradley immediately loses his balance and falls onto his back, floating up and spitting out water.

"Morgan, you bleeding cheater!" the blond exclaims with a bark of laughter, righting himself in the water.

Colin simply looks innocently away. "I don't know what you mean."

When Angel surfaces, she splashes at a cheering Katie, her hands up in the air in triumph while Colin holds onto her thighs and cheers along with her.

Katie then lets herself fall sideways, back into the water, and when she comes up, her and Angel get into a playful splashing war, careful not to get the chlorinated water in each other's eyes.

"Get over here, Morgan, so I can get my revenge!" Bradley's saying as he tears through the water in slow motion.

"Shit!" Colin laughs, and dives onto his belly to swim away at top speed, making for the ladder in the deep end, off-center of the small diving board.

"I'll get you!" Bradley threatens playfully, and the girls stop what they're doing just to watch, amused, as Colin moves to hop out of the pool, but Bradley tugs him back down into the water, and soon they're wrestling, wet and splashing, limbs flailing about.

"Hey, break it up, you two!" Angel calls out, casually swimming over to them. "You're going to wind up drowning one another," she says, frowning, but there's a smile on the corners of her lips. "Come on, I'm about ready for that hot tub now."

Colin's face is flushed as he wipes a hand over his soaked face, blowing air out his nose and mouth as he does so. "Yeah, me too."

"Finally!" Bradley breathes. He hoists himself out of the pool and steps right into the hot tub, his skin tingling with the sudden temperature change. He hisses long and low, making 'oh, ah, oh…' sounds as he relaxes into the water, lowering himself to the cement bench beneath the surface.

Colin and Angel join him, and Katie is the last one to enter (she had to round up her beach ball and put it by her chair, of course).

The four _Merlin_ stars hum with satisfaction, sighing on occasion as they lean back into the jets. "Now this? This is _nice,_ " Katie remarks.

"I tried to tell you it's the best thing after the long day we've had," Bradley has to mention. "Better than drinking, if you ask me."

"Well, no one _asked_ you," Angel giggles. "But you were right, Bradley; I forget how wonderful Jacuzzis are."

And so they chat a little, the four of them sprawled out as much as possible in the circular tub, wasting a good forty-five to sixty minutes doing nothing but enjoying the warm silences in between bouts of conversation.

It's just before the girls decide they want to get out that Bradley notices how Colin's leg briefly brushes his. He stiffens for a moment, his mind instantly wondering if it was on purpose, because God knows how often Bradley has purposely touched Colin in any small ways he could think of without being too obvious. But when he looks over at the slightly younger man, Colin is smiling at something Angel is saying, and acting as if he hadn't noticed he'd touched Bradley at all.

Bradley feels a flush of emotion run through him, something torn between disappointment and arousal. He shakes it off with a smile, trying to pay attention to what Katie is currently responding with in accordance to Colin's and Angel's conversation.

Then, "Hoo, boy. It's getting late, isn't it?" Angel yawns. "I'm exhausted."

"I reckon I could fall asleep right here," Bradley vaguely agrees, but he's glancing over at Colin again, because he swore he felt Colin's fingers brush his ribs when he retracted his elbow to rest on the ledge of the hot tub. "What about you, Cols?"

"I'm ready to hit the hay, yeah," the Irishman agrees.

And so the four of them get out of the tub (it's automatically set to shut off in forty minutes anyhow, when the poolroom closes), dry off as best they can, and make it back up to their rooms without collapsing in the elevator or in the hallway.

They mumble goodnight to one another, tired smiles in place. Back in their room, Bradley asks if he can use the bathroom first, just to change.

"You're not going to shower off all that chlorine? It might irritate your skin if you sleep on it," Colin warns.

Bradley rolls his eyes. "I've done it before, _Mum,_ and I was fine. But you can take the shower after me if you like."

"I will," Colin replies, and he watches as Bradley closes the bathroom door.

Inside, Bradley hesitates for a moment or two, looking at himself in the mirror. Now, for reasons he's been aware of for over a year now but have been rekindled tonight, Bradley is continually picturing a wet, nearly naked Colin in his lap in the hot tub, lips locks and tongues dancing, and hands sliding smoothly over water-slicked skin, and it's really not a thought he wants to keep around at the moment for obvious reasons.

Breathing deeply through his nose with his hands pressed against the sink, Bradley leans away and goes back to changing and hanging up his wet trousers on a bar normally used for damp towels. He rubs his towel over his hair one final time before slipping out of the bathroom, leaving the light on for Colin to use it next.

"It's all yours," Bradley states casually as he moves to slip under the covers. "And since I probably won't be awake when you get out, I'll say it now: goodnight, Cols."

Colin smiles humorously, but softly. He answers as he closes the door behind him, "Yah, goodnight, Bradley."

* * *

It's more than once that Bradley leans over to Colin to murmur a witty remark or another in response to the magic show. And it's more than once that Colin smiles or withholds a laugh in reply, and definitely more than once he himself leans over and does the same thing, Bradley laughing every time. Naturally, Katie is counting each and every single instance of this, because it's worse than the cons and expos they've been at, and this time, she wants to keep a tally of it all.

"They've huddled together a total of twenty-seven times during this show," Katie shares with Angel near the end of the tricks, just before the finale.

Angel's lips quirk into a smile. "I don't doubt it. I thought it was happening rather often. They're a tight-knit pair, aren't they?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they ever became flatmates, they're so close," Katie snorts. But she's smiling all the same, because it's endearing.

During the finale, Katie is awed by the display, but her awe turns into annoyance when Bradley leans over and tries to ruin it for her, saying something about how he thinks it's done. She shoves him and tells him to stuff his theories where the sun don't shine, because she likes having mystery to her magic tricks, thank you very much.

And by the show's end, they're walking out of the theatre and into the night, most of their day having been spent with hours and hours of sleep to make up for the lack thereof the previous night. Because, somehow, the true feeling of jetlag and time zone changes didn't effect them until the second night, and Angel has a feeling it's because their bodies finally met their limit of caffeine and alcohol and wound up running past empty.

So here they are now, rested and exiting with amusement, and that's when Bradley suggests that they go to a club of some sort and drink and dance like the youth of America.

But as he says this, a couple of girls stop them, mouths gaping, and suddenly come up to the group, asking if they really are the cast of Merlin and if they would mind signing in a little notebook one of the girls carries in her purse. They laugh and smile and agree, and then they're in an even merrier mood than before, and decide they might as well take part in Bradley's cheesy idea.

They visit a casino/club with bar and have at it. There's a small bundle of indoor rides in the center, and Colin and Bradley are the first on the miniature roller-coaster. The girls sit in the sidelines and use Bradley's camera to document it, laughing at the silly faces Bradley makes on each go-around. There's even a carousel, and Bradley hops on it and rides the animals backwards, or half hanging off of their poles. Colin is the one to take pictures this time, all the while the girls mixing into the crowd to join in the heated dancing.

And then, of course, Colin and Bradley get smashed.

Normally Colin lets others drink and rarely indulges himself; he has too high of morals for that, really. But not this night. He drinks just as much as Bradley does, and with his frame, it takes a greater toll on him. He's hanging onto Bradley's arm and jacket, and he's speaking mostly into Bradley's shirt.

"I fucking love you," Colin is saying, his words heavily slurred, but still recognizable. "I love you… so much, Bradley," and his tongue must be enlarged somehow, because his Irish brogue is kicking into high gear.

"Really?" Bradley says, laughing, finding a place to lean while he holds Colin up. "God's honest? 'Cause I love you, too, mate. I love you like… like Spike loves Buffy. Or, or… or like Kirk loves Spock. That's a whole lotts love right there, Cols."

"Mm," Colin agrees. "Lot'sa love. Hey, if we love each other that much, why aren't we married?" Colin suggests, and his mind really shouldn't let his mouth run like this, because words and suggestions are dangerously easy while this hammered. Bradley knows it, too, somewhere in his foggy mind, but he ignores it. The more alcohol-drenched half is what's in control, and it thinks this is a bloody brilliant idea.

"Yeah! Why _aren't_ we married, Colin? I wanna be Bradley Morgan. Or you could be Colin James. –Er, well, maybe Colin Gregory, 'cause that's my real last name, you know, not my stage name… Huh. So Bradley Morgan it is, then," he snorts a giggle. "Yes, good. Yes, let's get married, Col. Tonight. Right now! We're in Vegas, after all. Best place for a wedding, don't y'think?"

"Yes!" Colin agrees with a hiccup, laughing into Bradley's shoulder. He can feel Bradley's grip tighten around his waist, and everything feels warm and cozy, and maybe Colin is a little sick, but not too sick to go get married. He nods his head and wipes sweat from his brow and hoists himself up to be eye-level with the blond. "I would love to marry you right now."

"Because you love me so much," Bradley snickers, and God, he can't stop laughing. This is too funny; or maybe it's too long awaited, and that's why he's laughing: he's making fun of himself for not thinking of this sooner.

"'Xactly. 'Cause I love you so much," Colin repeats, and he starts to tug on Bradley's jacket. "C'mon, then, let's go. The girls can meet us back at the hotel later. We'll just… we can just get married really quick and then go to bed."

"Yeah, sounds good," Bradley nods. He frowns a little. "Wait. No, I want the girls there. We need a witness, anyway, right? Or something like that," Bradley muses. He smiles lopsidedly. "Wait, can you be my best man _and_ my bride? Does that work out?"

"No, silly!" Colin bursts out, a loud laugh escaping him. "Can't work like that! But hey, maybe Angel'll be your best man? –Er, woman? And Katie'll be mine. I love Katie."

"But not as much as you love me," Bradley reminds almost possessively, his the side of his too-hot face turning into Colin's neck.

Colin's heart skips a beat and he smiles dreamily. "No, 'course not. Not as much as I love you, no." And he pats Bradley's head. "Let's go find the girls, then!"

"No need, we're right here," Katie interrupts. She and Angel haven't had very much to drink over the past few hours, and are mostly sober. They look the boys over and exchange looks. "Are you two _pissed beyond repair_?" she asks.

"Maybe," Colin answers.

"A little bit," Bradley responds at the same time.

"We're getting married and we want you to come along," Colin states very matter-of-factly. Too bad it doesn't sound very convincing with his immense slur.

Katie and Angel laugh. "Good one, boys!" Angel says, and Katie can't stop laughing.

"No, really!" Bradley protests with a frown, his arms encircling Colin and bringing them chest-to-chest. He looks more at Colin than he does his female co-stars, his voice quieter, as he says, "I'm going to marry him."

Katie stops laughing long enough to catch this, and she blinks, glancing over at Angel. "Hold on a second. They're serious?"

"As serious as two best mates can be when they're both drunk off their asses," Angel replies. She waves it aside. "Come on, Katie, it's time we get them a taxi and take them back to the hotel. They've clearly had too much."

" _Clearly,_ " the Irish woman says, continually staring at the two young men.

But the boys groan and whine during the taxi ride, telling the girls repeatedly to let them go to each and every chapel they pass by.

"You can't honestly get married!" Angel insists. "First of all, you're two _men,_ so even if they marry you the state of Nevada won't recognize your marriage license, and then in England they're sort of recognize it, but not fully; not until next election, I think."

"So? We'll still be married in our _minds,_ " Bradley rebuttals. Even in the cab, his arm is still around Colin.

"And in our _hearts,_ " Colin adds. He smiles and hugs Bradley from the side. "'Sides, I wouldn't be with anyone else. I love Bradley. He's the best. He's… he's my _other half._ Right, Bradders? We're Merlin and Arthur, after all."

"That we are!" Bradley agrees whole-heartedly. "Two sames of the side coin." He frowns after he realizes that it sounds wrong. "Or… or two sides of the same coin. Whatever."

"You two are hopeless, aren't you?" Katie says with a sigh. "There's no getting between you, no arguing with you. You really want to do this."

"Yes!" the boys reply more or less at the same time.

Angel looks at Katie. She whispers to her, "You do know this could ruin things."

"I know."

"So what do we do? Let them think they're getting married just to shut them up, and then let them sleep it off and forget about it?"

"Maybe," Katie whispers back. "Or maybe we let them sober up and tomorrow, as them if they still want it. Because what if we even make it fake, but they remember, and they get horribly angry with us because they meant it? You never know with these two. And as fun as it would be to have this be a joke and a perfect blackmail opportunity, they could be serious. You saw them earlier tonight: chatting it up and being all close during the magic show. And they're always together naturally…"

"That's true," Angel agrees. She nods. "All right. Tomorrow, then." She clears her throat and looks at the boys, whom, surprisingly, weren't noticing nor caring that the girls were whispering things to one another without including them. They were too absorbed, it seems, in tasting each other's mouths.

Angel goes shock still after clearing her throat, because, honestly, all she had been about to do say something, but instead, her throat clearing jarred them from each other, and she's left looking at their swollen and glistening lips, faces far too close together.

Katie hadn't known that was why they were being so quiet, either, and now that her attention is also on them, they're pulling awkwardly away.

Bradley is the first to speak, which comes as no surprise. "Sorry, did you decide we're going to the chapel now? 'Cause I really wanna marry Colin now's I know what a good kisser he is."

"I shouldda tried that a long time ago," is Colin's only quiet, personal thought to himself on the matter.

Katie blinks, trying to bring her mind into focus, and slowly, Angel thaws out. "Okay, maybe they _are_ serious, just like you thought, Katie."

"This is borderline ridiculous," Katie mutters, and shakes her head. "Because if they're serious, they should be sober and decide this."

Angel nods deftly, but she can't look at Katie and do it, because now Bradley and Colin are just _staring_ at one another, their noses scant centimeters apart, and Colin's fingers are idly fiddling with the zipper on Bradley's jacket, and Bradley's fingers are mindlessly playing with Colin's hair.

"You're right, they should. But… just what made this happen, again?" Angel wants to know, and she really can't look away either; out of sick fascination or wild curiosity, she isn't sure which.

"I think… alcohol, proximity, and drunken declarations of love?" Katie murmurs, and she's struggling to blink, because she can't seem to, not when the two boys she's known for going on five or six years now are snogging again, and quite tenderly, unlike their hungry nature before.

And that's when the cab driver shatters the entire spell of things and announces that they've reached the hotel.

The girls thank him, pay him, and ease the boys out of the car. "But I wanted to go marry Colin before bed!" Bradley complains as they drag him into the building, his hand in Colin's, tugging the other boy along with him.

"No, no, I think you should wait until tomorrow. To see if… if you still want to marry him," Katie's telling him.

"Oh, all right," Bradley sighs. He glances behind him at Colin, who is being pushed by Katie to keep his legs moving. "That okay, mate? I'll marry you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure, tomorrow's fine," Colin smiles lopsidedly. Almost innocently, he asks, "Can I sleep in your bed with you tonight?"

"I was going to make you anyway," Bradley smirks as they reach the elevator and pile inside of it. "'M not sleepin' without my fiancé."

At this, Katie rolls her eyes, and Angel stifles a laugh.

"But I don't have a ring," Colin frowns sadly. "Can't be your fiancé without a ring."

"Ahm… huh. You've a point there," Bradley slurs. He looks around, sticks his thumb in his mouth to nibble at the cuticles, but his thumb ring – the same one he always wears on his right hand – bumps his chin. He blinks, pulls the thumb from his lips, and grins at it. "Here!" he exclaims. He pops it off with some effort and stumbles around, trying to fit it to Colin's finger before finally slipping it on. It just fits, if not a little too big, and is now displayed proudly on Colin's left ring finger. Colin shifts it to his left thumb instead, where it fits perfectly, and smiles.

"…You two are just…" Katie tries to come up with the right words, but she doesn't even know what she's feeling about all of this, let alone what words there are to describe it. She winds up shaking her head at them and stealing Bradley's wallet form his jeans to get their room card. She shoves them into their room, tosses the wallet and key card onto the floor inside it, and slams the door. "And you better not leave until morning!"

"We won't…" comes Colin's childish response, and Katie feels like she really _is_ dealing with children half the time when it comes to those two. It's worse, she thinks, when they play useless pranks on poor Angel.

Angel and Katie go back into their own room and start to remove their makeup and get into their pajamas. It's just after one in the morning by now, and they're exhausted on every level.

"What do you think they're –" Angel begins slowly, but Katie interrupts her thought before she can dare finish it.

"I'm going to go to sleep under the impression that they've curled up together, shoes and all, on the floor, and have gone immediately to sleep. And then I'm going to wake up tomorrow and hope that they don't remember this, feel silly, and move on," Katie replies.

"Why? What if… they actually want to be together? It might make them happier that way," Angel says.

"Yes, and I personally wouldn't mind, but I fear for them, Angel," Katie says, her voice earnest and her face unusually gentle. "I don't want them to randomly become wed and be together romantically after years of building up to it, because as much as I believe they were in love most of this time and never said anything – or simply didn't realize it – I can't trust how it will end. How the producers will handle it, how their careers will fall; I don't want them to risk it."

And now Katie's take on the whole thing since it began makes sense. Angel nods, a soft "Oh," of understanding on her lips as she turns and starts to take bobby pins from her curly hair. She adds thoughtfully, "Even so, I think it's sweet, the general idea of them together. I've had my suspicions for a while now, over a year, but it's nice to see some truth to it. They're kind of perfect for each other, both as friends and… not as friends."

"You mean as _boyfriends?_ " Katie teases lightly. She sighs. "Yes, I suppose they are."

* * *

Bradley's throat is dry and his eyes are groggy and his head is killing him and he feels both too warm and too cold at the same time when he wakes in the morning (or should he say, early afternoon?).

Bradley rubs at his face with one arm, his other pinned beneath something, and clearly numb from falling asleep. His front is warm but his lower back is cold, and so are his feet. There is a non-headachey pressure on his temple on the same side as his sleeping arm, and it takes him a moment to realize that there is something between his knees. And then there's this scent in his nose, something cross between alcoholic sweat and old shampoo.

Clearing his eyes and coming fully aware of his senses, Bradley looks down and finds Colin's head on his arm, cutting off the circulation, his skull slightly pressed against Bradley's. Colin's hands are up Bradley's shirt and one of his knees are between both of Bradley's, and they're lying on their sides together on the floor. Bradley's shoes and socks are strewn about, and Colin's fly is unzipped. Bradley's shirt, thanks to Colin's hands, is riding up, making for the draft he feels on his back.

Bradley stills, his lungs growing heavy and his spine turning cold. His stomach flips, and for a second, his own breath rebounds off of Colin's hair and he gets a nasty whiff of his own handover breath. He removes himself as quickly as he can from the brunet, and isn't surprised when Colin doesn't wake up, because, hell, in comparison, Colin drank more to his body ratio than Bradley, because Colin is such a lightweight.

The blond bolts up right and scrambles to the bed, his head and heart pounding in tandem, making for a very sloppy overall motion. His arm tingles and slowly gets feeling back into it from the bicep down. He fumbles with his body to roll over to read the clock on the nightstand between the two beds.

It's two o'clock, and in his hazy state, Bradley can only assume it means in the afternoon, because the sun is shining outside. He blinks, holds his head, and tries to remember everything he can, because some things seem a little… well, suspicious.

Like Colin's fly, for one thing.

And for another thing… why does Bradley's thumb feel naked?

He sorts this out by removing his hand from his head and looking at it. Sure enough, his thumb ring is missing. He looks around, trying to find it on the floor or bed or nightstand or dresser. But, finally, his eyes land on it: it's on Colin's left thumb. Just… casually there while he sleeps, as if it isn't a big deal that it's on him and not on Bradley, where it should be.

At this point, a few flashes are coming back to him. Something about holding Colin. Well, that makes sense; he initially woke up with his arm draped over Colin's ribs, and he knows that Colin was smashed last night, so he could have been supporting his weight… But what about the rest of it? How did they wind up on the floor, clothes falling off, and in each other's arms?

Bradley gets a sinking feeling in his gut. He might throw up. In fact, he knows he will, so he darts messily to the bathroom, for once glad that neither of them replaced the toilet seat, because it's better left up.

His spit tastes like acid and bad drinks, and vaguely, think he remembers puking earlier this morning as well. He cleans out his mouth as best he can and splashes his face with cold water multiple times.

And that's when he hears Colin moaning, slowly stirring from his drunken slumber.

Bradley immediately tenses. "Col?" he ventures as mildly as he can.

"Arrgh, my _head,_ " comes the response. "Wha'time'issit?" Colin yawns, sitting up cautiously and rubbing his face, scrubbing his scalp, and scratching his lower back all in one long arm motion.

"Just after two," Bradley answers. He comes into the room from the bathroom and chews his bottom lip. "Col, what… what d'you remember? From last night?"

"Drinking," Colin half-smiles, "And a lot of it."

"Yes, and?" Bradley prods anxiously.

Colin stares at him. "What, what's wr–" and then he follows Bradley's eyes to Colin's state of dress, open trousers and thumb ring and all. " _Oh._ We didn't – Did we?"

"I don't think anything happened, no," Bradley answers quietly. "I'm clean, anyway. Of… of bodily fluids."

"Uhg, please don't say it like _that,_ " Colin scrunches up his nose and looks away, almost laughing, but not quite. Nevertheless, he looks himself over and hastily touches a few places on his pants, happy to come up with nothing. "But yeah, no, I don't think anything went on. I'm clean."

"Good," Bradley sighs. He decides to make a joke of it. "Maybe you jus' got too lazy to finish undressing to get into your nightclothes, eh? Fell asleep before you could even yank your trousers off."

Colin chuckles a little, hand flying to his head when it aches as he does, and nods very slowly. "Yah, that must be it, then."

There's a pause that feels too near being an uncomfortable silence. And since the first couple months they met, they haven't had one of those. It's unsettling to say the least.

"So," Bradley says, gesturing to the bathroom, "It's all yours. Pee or puke or whatever it is you have to do. I'm going to look for some aspirin."

"Good idea," Colin agrees quietly as he forces himself to stand. He trips more than once on both items and nothing at all as he makes his way to the small bathroom. Once he closes the door, Bradley quickly starts picking things up and tossing them into suitcases. Then he rifles through Colin's bag, hoping to find the Boy Scout's medicines. Ah, there! Right in one of the side-pouches: aspirin, cold medicine, cough drops; the works.

Bradley grabs a water bottle from the mini-fridge they stocked when they arrived and pops a couple pills into his mouth. Downing the water, Bradley watches as Colin emerges from the bathroom, some of the tips of his hair wet from washing his face.

But it is, in fact, _exactly_ Colin's face that concerns Bradley. He slowly lowers the water bottle from his lips and looks at Colin. "What is it?"

Colin looks puzzled more than anything else, but there is a flush of embarrassment across his cheeks that is undeniable. He looks at Bradley, then quickly adverts his gaze. "Ehm," Colin begins sheepishly, "Do you… at all… recall what we said to one another last night?"

"Not much beyond the casino rides, no," Bradley admits. He frowns. "Why? Is it… bad? What?"

Colin shakes his head. "No, no, it's fine, I guess, it's just – em…" He holds up his hand. "I remembered why this is on my thumb and not yours. That's all." And he's failing at making it sound remotely normal.

Bradley's frown deepens, and he takes a step closer. "Yeah, can't I have it back now? I can't imagine why you'd be wearing it unless you took it and joke it as a joke or something."

Bradley doesn't miss the hurt expression that crosses Colin's face, however briefly. "Oh… yes, you should have it back, shouldn't you? It's yours." And he hesitates in taking it off.

"Okay, Colin, what did you remember? You're acting weird."

"I always act weird. And so do you," Colin quips as he plants the ring in Bradley's open hand.

"Fine, then you're acting _weirder_ than the level of weird we're normally at. So what gives?" Bradley wants to know. His headache is slowly clearing and he's trying desperately to recall as much of the blanks from last night as he can.

Colin clears his throat, moves for the pills, and takes Bradley's water from him. He downs his own dose before speaking again. "I'm your fiancé."

"What?"

Colin makes an exaggerated shrug and turns away, walking past Bradley. He hasn't looked him in the eye since he exited the bathroom. Colin elaborates, "Looking at it, I remember. It was, em, just before we went to our room. We were… going to get married, or, uh, or something – just a joke, I think – but the girls wouldn't let us. And then I think you made me your fiancé anyway buy giving me your ring."

As soon as Colin (nervously) explains it, the entire scene comes back to Bradley in a choppy rush, and he has to sit down, because his heart is pounding double-time and he can't believe that he let his personal affections for Colin become to transparent last night with all that alcohol in his system.

" _Oh,_ " Bradley says quietly. "And I think, um, we might have said 'I love you' repeatedly, too."

"Yeah."

"…Good thing we didn't actually get married, huh? Haha… ha… imagine how awkward that would be."

"…Yeah."

"…And so… not right, you know?"

"Yeah…"

"Because I wouldn't marry you, Colin."

"…Y-yeah… me either. Marry you, I mean."

"Because that would just be…" and here Bradley is really struggling, more than he has been for the past several minutes.

"…Stupid," Colin finishes weakly.

Their gazes finally lock after so much eye-tag, and once they do, it's difficult to look away, because there is so much conflict and unspoken words between then, forming a sort of tension that is nearly impossible to describe, and yet is completely palpable.

"Not that it would be a bad thing," Bradley jumps in hastily. "To be married to you, personally. Uh. It's just –"

"It wouldn't work because of our career," Colin adds just as hastily. "It's, eh, too delicate a situation."

"Right! And think of the reporters and the fans –"

"– They would have the maddest of field days," Colin laughs in a pitch too high to be casual.

"Yeah, yeah," Bradley agrees, his own laughter too anxious. "And we could ruin everything –"

" _Everything_ –"

"And just…" but here is where Bradley stops, and Colin halts as well, and they're still gazing at one another, eyes searching wildly, flitting across one another's face. They haven't moved, and are literally locked into place in the cheap hotel carpeting, bodies a couple meters apart.

They finally break eye contact, and _God,_ this is almost painful.

Colin waits out the silence, sucking in air and releasing it slowly.

Bradley nervously rubs the back of his head and rubs his arms.

Then: _Knock, knock,_ rapidly, followed by a female voice. "Cleaning service!"

"Come back later!" both boys say at once, and that shatters it, and they're suddenly both laughing hysterically, leaning and stepping forward until they can touch one another.

Bradley pats Colin's back and Colin nudges Bradley with his elbow. "Man, we are bonkers when we're pissed," Bradley says first. "We need to lay off the booze! It makes us totally gay for each other!"

"No, I think we do a fine job of that on our own," Colin jokes. "Honestly, Bradley. Don't tell me our friendship doesn't have homosexual tendencies sometimes."

"Only a smidge," Bradley teases back, making his fingers into a pinch to show how much, and cue another bout of laughter.

Except the laughter fades and dies, because back in this proximity in sharing breaths, they both recall the taste and feel of the other's lips, and it makes their hungover heads swim.

"…But, ehm."

"Yeah, Cols?" Bradley whispers.

"Maybe it… wouldn't be so bad if we just, em… kept it a secret. Our relationship, I mean. We could…" and the brunet drifts off, one of his hands coming up to lightly touch Bradley's stubbled jaw, his eyes fixed on Bradley's lips.

"Hell yeah," Bradley consents immediately, swooping in, eyes closed, to obliterate the gap between them, his own hand reaching around to firmly grip the nape of Colin's neck as their mouths open up, hot and bittersweet, to kiss.

And that does it, that makes it official: Colin keeps Bradley's thumb ring on his hand, Bradley secretly joins their fingers underneath tables and seats for the remainder of the trip, and they act perfectly normal around their female co-stars, insisting that they don't remember a thing about that night, and leave it at that.

It's the perfect scandal, really, and the two wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
